Wife-beating charge shocks Middleboro fighter's trainer

MIDDLEBORO – Scott Lockhart trained Joshua Grispi from when he was 13 years old to when he was competing as a professional fighter in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He was shocked when he first heard of the allegations that Grispi had been arrested twice in four days on charges of brutally beating his wife and having his dog attack her.

The allegations, which were first reported by The Enterprise of Brockton, came to light Wednesday.

Grispi, 25, is being held without bail on domestic abuse and assault charges following his arrest on Monday. He had been arrested just three days prior, Friday, Aug. 1, on similar charges and was released earlier Monday after posting $2,000 bail.

Grispi allegedly tortured his wife, Kaitlyn Grispi, over the past two years by beating her regularly and siccing the dog on her, keeping her in a constant state of fear. The two have been married for three years and have two children together, ages 1 and 3.

Inside their Middleboro home, police found handguns, rifles, an assault rifle and ammunition, most of which were unsecured, that belonged to Joshua. Some of the guns were located next to their one-year-old daughter’s playpen in their bedroom.

A second search of the house by police yielded more ammunition, a pot farm with 20 marijuana plants, 15 grams of cocaine and two pigs in the basement being kept as pets.

“It’s crazy,” Lockhart said. “I’ve known him and his family for more than 10 years and they’re like family.”

Lockhart said he did not know much about Grispi’s relationship with his wife, but he never saw any behavior from him to indicate any hostility outside of the ring.

“He was always a really good kid,” said Lockhart, who is a trainer at South Shore Sportfighting based in Norwell.

People with truly violent personalities outside of the ring often don’t make it far in the world of professional fighting, Lockhart said.

“The majority of the people I’ve worked with, including Josh, have always been even-tempered,” he said. “If someone comes in and they’re a really violent person, they don’t really last long in that setting.”

Grispi’s fighter profile on the UFC website said: “I was an aggressive kid and had some fights in school and my dad wanted me to have an outlet. My younger brother Joel was playing paint ball and I went with him. Every time I got shot I would want to go after the guy and punch him, so after a while I wasn't allowed in the place anymore. I used to have to just sit in the car. South Shore Sportfighting was right next door and my dad said, "Why don't you go in there." That's when I started training.”

The profile also lists some of his accomplishments as a fighter: “Several first-place trophies in teenage grappling divisions. A couple of them were NAGA tournaments. Currently the Full Force Productions Featherweight champion. Won first 4 MMA fights in under one minute. Was youngest fighter in New Hampshire history at age 17. Was youngest fighter in Massachusetts history on 18th birthday.”

As a featherweight, Grispi made it up the ranks to the UFC and his first fight was in 2011. He lost all four fights he competed in with the UFC. His last fight was Feb. 16, 2013, a unanimous three-round decision loss to fighter Andy Ogle.

“He was a really good fighter. He came up, he won several fights and made it to the big time,” Lockhart said. “He lost four in a row in UFC, which is nothing to be looked bad upon.”

After he lost his last fight in 2013, Grispi stopped fighting. Lockhart and he stayed in touch mostly through text messages but he seldom came by the gym to train anymore.

Lockhart said he did not know if the losses or Grispi’s exit from professional fighting might have led to what he is accused of allegedly doing.

“I don’t know what goes on at their house between them,” he said.

He did say, however, that he would try to be there for his former fighter.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to help him and work through it and go from there,” Lockhart said.

Grispi is due to be back in Wareham District Court for a pre-trial conference on Oct. 3.